A Knight Like No Other
by OCGirl94
Summary: COMPLETE! Following the events of TP, Link is dubbed a knight and lives happily at the castle. But just when things seem peaceful, they take a turn for the worst as Princess Zelda is kidnapped by a mysterious creature one dark night... 1st fic!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey, people! This is my first ever fanfiction! *squeeeeeeeaaaaal* Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this. I've put a ton of work into making it as good as possible, but I know it's not perfect so any constructive criticism and pointers you can offer are more then welcome! Thanks, please R&R and no flames! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my ocs Matt and two others who come in later, and the plot of this story  


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**A Knight like No Other**

Chapter 1

For what seemed the hundredth time, Princess Zelda of Hyrule peered out one of the large windows in her quarters. This particular window looked out to the gates of Hyrule Castle. She scanned the horizon once more._ Why do I feel so excited? _She thought. She had been keeping a lookout for someone to come up the road to the gates for some time now. She shook the thought from her mind and pushed a fallen strand of her dark brown hair back into place. _Of course I have good reason to want to see him_, another part of her argued. _After all, he saved all of Hyrule...as well as me, and I never even really thanked him._

Still, she felt it strange that she waited so expectantly for his arrival. She had only been around him during the final battle with Ganondorf and also for a while when they traveled from Gerudo Valley back to the castle after Midna left; and he had barely spoken the whole time they walked. Zelda had seen him as someone who only spoke when he felt it necessary, or to those he knew well. Nevertheless, in that short time, she had found herself falling for him. She found her cheeks reddening at the thought. But nearly every girl in Hyrule dreamed of the handsome hero. He could easily have his pick of the kingdom. What were the chances he would return her feelings when he barely even knew her? She glanced out the window again, and this time she was rewarded. A horse and rider were quickly approaching the castle gates. The rider was somewhat hard to see in the distance though the sun shone brightly overhead. Zelda could however, see the horse quite clearly. The mare she had ridden once before was a deep brown with a white mane and tail. It galloped swiftly and gracefully along, seeming just as eager to reach the castle as the princess was to see its rider.

They were quickly drawing closer; she could feel the excitement coursing through her veins once more and hurried towards the castle's main entrance, trotting through the corridors more then walking. She forced herself to enter slowly when she reached the foyer. Her father, King Harkininian was already talking to someone, but he blocked her view of whoever he was speaking to. Though he was not very old, the king's hair and beard had already partly turned gray due to the stress of ruling such a large kingdom. As well as one that was subject to many attacks.

Zelda made her way forward to stand beside her father and her heart quickened at the sight before her. A familiar young man of sixteen had taken off his green cap and knelt on one knee, quietly bowing to the king.

_It's so strange. He's the same age as me, _the princess thought, _and yet, he's saved an entire kingdom._

Link wore a green tunic and hat with a white shirt underneath. However, if you looked closely enough, between these two things the glint of chain mail could be seen. Aside from this he wore white leggings and dark brown boots and, as always, his sword and shield hung on his back.

"Please, rise Link," Harkininian said in his deep voice, "I would like to properly introduce you to my daughter, Princess Zelda."

Link got to his feet, his deep, silver-blue eyes twinkling brightly when they met Zelda's emerald gaze. Link bowed somewhat clumsily, not exactly used to royal etiquette. _Did he blush slightly?_ Zelda wondered as he looked back up at her. But she quickly dismissed the thought.

"Your Highness," he said, his voice seeming to falter slightly. _Now my ears are playing tricks on me,_ Zelda thought. However, her thoughts were broken as her father spoke again. "It's good to have you with us Link," he said, giving Link a pat on the shoulder. "I'm glad you chose to accept our offer. The ceremony to have you officially knighted will be tomorrow at noon." Then, turning to his daughter, he said, "Zelda, would you mind going to see if the servants have finished preparing the quarters a ways down the hall from yours? That's where Link will be living from now on." Both Link's and Zelda's eyes widened simultaneously; the Knights of Hyrule usually lived in the barracks a short ways from the castle. "O-Of course Father," Zelda stammered and quickly left the room.

"Um... Excuse me, sire. I-I guess I'd better get Epona and myself settled in," Link said, following suit.

"Oh you needn't worry about Epona," the king replied. "Since you are soon to be a knight you'll be assigned a squire to take care of your horse among other things. In fact, if I'm not mistaken he's already down at the stables."

Link's cobalt eyes widened once more. "Oh no," he breathed.

"I'm sorry?"

"I have to go sire," Link said quickly before darting out the huge oak doors that led to the courtyard. He immediately ran for the stables, where he'd left Epona. Bursting through the doors, for a moment he could only stare as his fears were realized. A young boy of about fourteen reached slowly for the horse though she shied away visibly and it was easy for Link to see she was agitated. Her usually calm eyes were wide and fearful and as the boy tried to draw closer she reared up in fear. When she came down again, she would've fallen on the boy had he not quickly side-stepped. Link quickly stepped forward, grabbing Epona's reigns before she reared again and whispering soothingly to her. Slowly, she calmed down and, after a moment, Link turned to the boy behind him and offered him a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry," he said, "She doesn't take to strangers too easily. A couple months back she got kidnapped by a bunch of moblins so..."

The boy's dark brown eyes grew wide at this statement. "She did?"

"Yeah, this is Epona by the way," Link said, running a hand fondly down the horse's muzzle. The boy's eyes grew wider still. "Then you must be Link!" he exclaimed, then quickly bowed to the hero. "Oh wow," he continued, awe evident in his voice, "you're the one who saved all of Hyrule! I couldn't believe it when the head knight himself came and told me I was to be assigned to you!"

Link gave a slight laugh. "Yeah, but I prefer not to talk about it. I just did what I had to. So, since you seem to already know my name, what's yours?"

"Oh, I'm Matt," the boy said with a smile. He had dark brown hair that nearly matched his eyes and, though only a couple of years separated them in age, he stood quite a bit shorter then Link. His long, messy bangs hung down into his eyes and he was simply dressed in a dingy, white shirt, brown pants, and boots.

"Well, Matt," Link replied, returning the boy's smile, "Its nice to meet you."

XxX

Zelda slowly made her way down the corridor leading back toward her own quarters and made her way past them, going still farther down the passage. Her feet moved without her direction as her mind was far from thinking of where she was headed. The mere sight of a certain messy-haired hero made her heart and mind race. She immediately chided herself for thinking of him; nevertheless she couldn't push the thoughts away. She sighed inwardly. 'Darn it, Link, why do you have to be so shy?' Even if he was to live in the castle now she felt like nothing would change much. As far as she could see, Link only said what was necessary, at least to those he didn't know. Nevertheless the princess was determined to try everything to bring him out of his shell. She sighed to herself once more as she entered what was to be Link's room.

_How can you be so brave one minute and so utterly shy the next? _she thought. She glanced around the room; a few maids were still scurrying about, not noticing her presence. "Is everything almost ready?" she asked. Suddenly, they were all facing her, each giving a little curtsy.

One of them stepped forward. "Yes, your highness," she said quickly. "We were just leaving."

With that they all departed and Zelda was left alone. _It's kind of strange that Father is letting a knight live in the castle,_ she thought. _Not that Link doesn't deserve it._ Zelda's mind drifted back to his countless heroic deeds. He never spoke of them, but his work was the talk of nearly all of Hyrule. Most of all, she remembered his final battle with Ganondorf, which she herself had witnessed. All of those things had taken place less then two months ago and at times the king of evil still haunted her dreams. She could still see it, Link stood bravely facing him, the Master Sword drawn, never letting his guard down. However, at one point, Ganondorf seemed to break straight through his defenses. Link's shield fell and, seeing his opportunity, the king of evil struck a horrendous blow with the long sword he held. The hero gave a cry of pain and, for a moment, crumpled to the ground. Even now, she could hear Ganondorf's bone-chilling laughter fill her ears. "Link!" she had shouted, pounding a fist on the force field around him as well as Ganondorf. Epona's neigh of alarm was a near shriek. "Please..." Zelda whispered, "You... You can't die. Hyrule needs you... I need you."

But then, as if in answer to her pleas, with great effort he had risen to his feet. And, though blood ran freely from a deep gash in his stomach, turning a large part of his tunic a sickening red, he had gone on to defeat Ganondorf. Still, the memory haunted her both day and night. She shuddered slightly. How many times had she woken up screaming at night after horrible nightmares caused by that memory? At least she could take comfort in knowing he was here in the castle with her.

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**Alright, I know it's sorta short, but please don't hate me! This is basically just an introduction to the actual story so it gets better. At least in my opinion. Lol so I plan on updating once a week and that should be pretty easy since this story is actually almost finished and I just need to do some editing. Anyway, I hope you'll come back next week and again, please review! **

**-Archer **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Alright, so here's chapter 2. It's only a little longer then the 1st chap, but if I changed were it ended it would probably throw the whole story outta whack so I hope you guys don't mind. Hope you enjoy and please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my ocs and the plot.  


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**A Knight like No Other**

Chapter 2

Shortly after, Zelda left what was to be Link's room and headed out into the courtyard. She soon spotted Link, who was practicing his swordplay with one of the guards, a young boy stood nearby, his dark eyes locked on the match before him and Link's shield resting at his feet.

Not noticing the princess, Link continued to easily seem to dance out of reach of the guard's every jab and thrust. His dirty blond hair flashed in the sun along with the blade of his sword. Link waited patiently for just the right moment to strike; he never let his guard falter, but kept ever-alert to see if the other man would slip up. After giving another thrust, the guard paused for just a split second; however, Link saw this and quickly jumped at the guard, dealt a swift slash of his own that nearly toppled the man, and somersaulted out of reach before he could retaliate. Link feigned a yawn with a laugh, dodging another of the guard's attacks, and Zelda couldn't help but giggle herself. By now the guard was panting, but Link was as energetic as ever. "Do you yield?" he asked grinning.

"Oh no, I'm not that weak," the guard replied.

Link grinned again. They continued sparring, the guard still not managing to land a hit, but Link easily spotting and taking advantage of every opening.

"Okay, okay, I yield," the guard said at last, between gasps for breath.

Link laughed again and extended a hand. "Good match," he said smiling.

The guard gave him a firm handshake, returning his smile. "Thanks," he said.

Zelda smiled slightly as well. Everyone who met Link seemed to like and respect him like that. But then he turned and caught sight of her. His attitude instantly changed, "Oh, um... Hello, your highness," he stammered, "I...didn't notice you there."

She sighed to herself. _Why doesn't he ever act like himself around me?_

"Please, just call me Zelda," she said, quickly pushing the thought away.

"Okay... Zelda," he replied slowly.

Zelda was thankful the guard had been kind enough to leave and wasn't watching this. However. the young boy, who Zelda assumed was the squire her father had spoken of the day before, still stood nearby. "I was just going to show you your quarters if you want to get settled in," she said at last.

"Sure... Um," he turned to address the boy over his shoulder, "Matt, go ahead back to the stables, I'll be back soon and we'll see if we can't get Epona used to you."

The boy gave a quick nod and then disappeared.

With that, Link picked up his shield, which still lay on the ground, and turned back to the princess.

XxX

After quickly tossing his few possessions into his room, to be unpacked and sorted out later, Link returned to the stables where Matt waited with Epona. The boy was smiling broadly and there was an odd look in his eye. Link cocked an eyebrow at the squire.

"What?" he asked.

Matt shook his head. "I really shouldn't say it. The baron would have my head."

Link's eyebrow rose higher. "Who?"

"The baron. He's the one who promotes the pages to squires. Once they're up to his standards of course. And if I were to say what I'm thinking right now, he'd cut me in two."

Link laughed. "Well, he's not here is he? Besides, technically he's not in charge of you anymore. I am."

"Hehe…," the boy gave a nervous laugh. "Well, believe me when I say you don't wanna know what I was thinking."

"Sure I do. So come on."

Matt gave another odd grin before saying, "Youlikeherdon'tyou?"

The sentence seemed to be all one word and it took Link a moment to comprehend the words, but when he did his face went scarlet. "What? No!" he exclaimed

The squire just continued grinning "You can't say I didn't warn you," he said shaking his head.

"Anyway," Link said quickly, "can we get back to why we're here?"

XxX

At dinner, Zelda noted with annoyance, Link was just as silent as ever and every time she would even look at him, he seemed to take a sudden interest in his boots.

"Impa, is there something wrong with me?" Zelda demanded later that night, looking up at her nursemaid. "Link acts like he's afraid of me."

"Of course not sweetie," the sheikah replied, giving Zelda a comforting smile. "Link is shy, that's all. He's never had many friends and no family either. It's no surprise he tends to be uncomfortable around people he doesn't know. Give him a while," she added, giving her young charge a pat on the back, "I have a feeling he has his reasons for being so shy." At that, she smiled slightly.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"I'm sure you'll find out one day or another," her nursemaid replied cryptically. "Now get some sleep."

With that, Impa left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

_Maybe he is just shy, _the princess thought, _but it seems to me like he only acts that way when I'm around. "_He has his reasons_..._," Zelda now thought aloud. "What's that supposed to mean?"

XxX

Later that night, Zelda tossed and turned in her sleep. Then suddenly, she sat bolt upright with a shriek. In what seemed like seconds there was a knock on her door. "Zelda, are you okay?" Link's voice was full of concern, but she could barely hear it. All she heard was the sound of Ganondorf's laughter as he stood over a motionless Link. When there was no answer, Link simply opened the door, fearing the worst. "Zelda?" he said, slowly peering into the dark room. He cautiously stepped closer to her bed and soon he could see Zelda sitting there, her whole body shaking in fear. "Zelda... Are you alright?"

She finally seemed to snap out of her nightmare, but suddenly leaned forward and grabbed him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

Link stiffened slightly, but didn't move. Finally, the princess found her voice. "Oh Link, it was horrible," she said between quiet sobs. "I... I dreamed about that last battle... with Ganondorf, but... But you were killed and Ganondorf took over all of Hyrule and..." her voice trailed away and she simply continued tightly clutching him, sobbing quietly. Link slowly sat down on the edge of her bed, letting her lean her head against his shoulder. He gingerly wrapped a comforting arm around her and silently let her cry. "It was just a dream," he whispered at last. She slowly raised her head to look into his sapphire eyes, as if searching for something. "I'm right here," he continued, giving her a reassuring smile, "and I don't plan on going anywhere. I promise, I'm not gonna let anyone or anything hurt you."

She smiled up at him through her tears and he slowly reached over and wiped them away with his thumbs. Zelda felt herself shiver slightly at his touch, but he let his hands fall back to his sides, then, blinking slightly, he suddenly seemed to realize where he was. "Um... I'd better go," he said, quickly getting up to leave.

She sighed slightly as the door shut behind him. How could his attitude change so quickly? However, she temporarily pushed that thought to the back of her mind and drifted off back to sleep. A sleep in which, for once, she dreamed of her golden-haired hero standing victorious over the king of evil.

XxX

Zelda rose early the next morning and went for a walk in the courtyard, as she often did. As she walked, her thoughts of the previous night came back to her and she resolved to find Link before his knighting ceremony and ask him why he acted differently around her then he did around everyone else. And just as she was thinking this, the princess chanced to bump into a certain blond-headed young man who was also wandering the courtyard paths, lost in thought. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly, not noticing who she had bumped into. But, then she looked up into his face. "Link!" she exclaimed, her resolve suddenly carried away by the light breeze , "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um, nothing... Just thinking," Link said, unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck.

Trying to regain her courage, Zelda said, "Link, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"No...," he said slowly. "Uh, I mean, go ahead."

"Link, what- What happened to your parents?" she asked, the words slipping from her mouth before she even knew what she was saying.

A twinge of pain crossed his face, but disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"If- If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to," she added quickly. "I know it's really none of my business."

"No... It's fine. I'm used to it. In fact, that's part of the reason why I'm here," he said with a sad smile. "My dad was one of the Knights of Hyrule; one of the best ever, in my opinion at least. He died fighting in the Hyrulian Civil War... My mom escaped with me and took me to the Faron Woods, to Ordon, but she died from wounds she'd received from the invaders not long after." He sighed, "I wish I could remember them, but... I was so little. All I know is what my friends in Ordon told me and what little I can remember.

They said before she died my mom told them about my dad, that he was one of the Knights of Hyrule and looked a lot like me. ...I know even less about him then I do about my mom. Like I said, that's partly why I accepted this offer." he paused for a moment, "I can still just vaguely remember what they looked like, but..." his voice trailed off and he sighed slightly.

"Oh Link I'm so sorry." Zelda said sympathetically. The princess could certainly understand how Link felt since the civil war had taken her mother from her. However, she smiled slightly as an idea formed in her head. She had once seen a photo in her father's study. Perhaps...

The pair had been standing in silence for a moment now. "Um, excuse me. There's... something I must go attend to," Zelda said quickly.

And with that she quickly headed back inside the castle, Link giving her a quizzical look as she went.

XxX

Later that day, at noon, Link's Knighting Ceremony was just getting under way. Zelda hurried to the throne room to stand beside her father, clutching something in one hand. Link began slowly walking down the red carpet leading up to the throne, seeming somewhat embarrassed by the small fanfare that played as he entered. He had been given a new tunic though, at his request, it was the same deep green as his other tunic.

He had also been given new black boots and a cape of the same deep green fabric. Reaching the throne, he knelt on one knee in front of the pair. King Harkininian lowered the sword he held onto one of Link's shoulders, then the other, then he spoke. "Please rise, Sir Link, Hero and now, knight of Hyrule." Link then got to his feet and the king placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your father would be proud," he said with a sad smile.

""Th- Thank you, sire,"" Link said bowing slightly, then turning to go.

Zelda quickly slipped away and followed him. She caught him by the shoulder as he headed down the hall. He quickly turned and she smiled up at him. ""I have something to give you,"" she said.

He gave her a questioning look.

She held up the piece of paper she had spent over an hour searching for.

Link gasped slightly, gingerly taking the paper from her. It was a photo of a man who looked nearly identical to Link, standing next to a woman with long, pale blond hair.

"Wh-Where did you get this?" he stammered.

"It was my father's," the princess replied. "He and your father were close friends. I spent quite a while looking for it, but then my father came in and simply gave it to me. Of course I wanted to give it to you. My father also told me to tell you if you wanted, he could tell you some things about your parents."

Link gave her a quick hug. "Thank you," he said with a smile.

She sighed as he disappeared, but it was different this time. Maybe. Just maybe, there was hope for him yet...

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**A/N: Okay, I personally think part of this sounds dumb and flat, but, eh. I tend to be my own worst critic. Anyway, hope you guys liked it and will review and come back next week! Thanks!**

**-Archer**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: All right! Here's were the action really starts rollin' people! Finally, we're gettin' to a good part (sorta anyway) **

**Eh, part of me likes that this is finally gettin to the good part of the story and the other part totally hates this chap. Ugh, you'll see what I mean. Secondly, I know this chap is still too short so I'm really sorry, I just don't know what I could add to it! Anyway, once again I hope you guys enjoy and will R&R and come back next week. Also, forgive my stupid attempt at humor toward the middle of this chap; these dumb ideas just refuse to leave me alone until I write them down! **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything except my ocs and the plot.**

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**A Knight like No Other**

Chapter 3

Nearly a month had passed since Link's arrival at the castle and he was slowly, ever so slowly, becoming accustomed to speaking freely with the princess. Although he still became uncomfortable discussing certain things, Zelda was glad that they were becoming closer friends. Link, aside from Impa, was the only one she felt she could truly be herself around. She freely confided in him and, given time, he did the same with her.

One day, Zelda was walking through the castle when she spotted Link standing absentmindedly in the middle of one of the corridors. He was studying a sheet of paper held in one hand and didn't seem to notice the servants bustling hither and yon around him, casting odd looks in his direction as they went.

"Something wrong Link?" Zelda asked, coming up to him.

"No," he replied, turning to face her. "Just looking at a letter I got from a friend of mine. He lives over in Kakariko. ...Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you, if I left for a few hours today do you think I'd be missed?" he added with a smile. Though he'd lived there for a while now, many of the nobles living in or visiting the castle still looked upon "the farm hand" with scorn. Link, however, never let it bother him. Or at least if it did, he hid it well "Oh that reminds me," Zelda said, "Sir Erin wanted to see you after lunch,"

Link rolled his eyes with a chuckle. Erin was head of the Knights of Hyrule and, after the recent attack by Ganondorf, he demanded nothing less then perfection from his men. "There's always something wrong with me isn't there?" Link asked with mock indignation. Zelda giggled and Link's smile grew at this. "He wanted you for archery practice," the princess answered, "but don't worry, I'll take care of him."

"Thanks. Then I guess I'll go see him after lunch."

So, later that day, Link set out on Epona toward Kakariko Village.

Arriving, he stopped to greet the village shaman and his daughter and raised a hand in greeting to the gorons around the village, who returned the gesture. A small explosion and a shout of anger told him that Barnes was in his shop "experimenting" again and he couldn't help but laugh. He then headed for a good-sized house not far away, leaving Epona to happily wade in the village spring. He knocked on the familiar door and it soon swung open.

"Link!" a boy about Link's age with short blond hair exclaimed with a grin. "What're you doin' here?"

Link grinned back. "Nothin' special. Just thought I'd come say hey. Boy Sheik, you should hear all the stuff that's happened to me lately."

"Like what? Those goats get away from you, farm boy?" Sheik teased.

Link smirked. "That's Sir Link to you," he said, giving his friend a slight shove. "I'll have you know I'm a knight now."

Upon seeing Sheik's shocked expression and his mouth fall open slightly, Link nearly burst out laughing.

"Seriously?" Sheik managed to ask at last.

"Yep, n' that's not even half of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I left out quite a lot in the letters I've sent you lately."

So, Sheik led Link into his house and Link told his friend the long story of his recent adventures. "...So, that's about it," Link finished at last. "I've lived at the castle for about a month now."

"Lucky you," Sheik said with a grin. "What's it like?"

"Eh, I could live without all the looks some people give me, and it's definitely more hectic then the forest, but other then that it's great."

"What's the princess like?" Sheik asked suddenly after a short pause.

Link flushed slightly, but managed to keep his composure. "Well, what most everyone says about her is true, but, let's just say, the things they say don't do her justice," he said with a slight smile. "She's kind and brave and just..."

"Beautiful?" Sheik finished, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Link was silent, his face turning a light shade of crimson.

Sheik immediately started to laugh. "I knew it! You like her don't you?"

Link groaned. "Not you too,' he said sarcastically. However, there was no hiding the now even brighter crimson shade of his face.

"Aha!" Sheik exclaimed. "So I'm not the only one who thinks so, huh? So, who agrees with me?"

Link rolled his eyes. "Matt," he said begrudgingly. "He's a squire back at the castle, but just for the record, you're both nuts. She's just my friend."

"Sure..." Sheik drawled in return.

XxX

"So, why don't you tell her?" Sheik persisted later that day.

Link, who had his back to his friend, sighed. ""I still don't know why I invited you to stay here. I'm surprised the king agreed to it."

Sheik simply grinned. "Changing the subject," he said waggling a finger at Link's back.

Sheik was sitting cross-legged on a spare bed that had been placed in Link's room. Now he got to his feet, an evil look in his eyes. "Well..." he said slowly, "If you won't tell her... Maybe I will."

With that, he darted for the open door, but, with reflexes like lighting, Link blocked his path. He sighed once more, standing in the doorway. Raising an eyebrow he asked, "Remind me again why I consider you my friend?"

Sheik turned, disregarding Link's question. "Fine," he said, still grinning slyly. "But, you know what happens now."

"Oh no, don't you dare..."

"Tell her, tell her, tell her," Sheik began chanting incessantly.

"Man, shut up!" Link yelled over his friend's continued chanting. He quickly slammed the door so no one would hear. "The last time you did that we were like six!"

"So?" Sheik paused to say, but quickly picked up where he'd left off.

"Ahhh! Okay, fine. I'll try to talk to her tomorrow." Link surrendered at last. "Now will you just be quiet?"

Sheik immediately snapped his mouth closed, but then added, "Okay. Just remember. I'm holdin' you to what you said."

Link flopped onto his own bed facing the wall. "That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered.

Nevertheless, the next morning after breakfast, Link found himself standing before a door that led out into the castle courtyard. The door stood open, but Link was frozen in place, rigid as a post. After a moment, Sheik, who stood behind him, gave him a push and Link staggered out into the open, his friend slamming the door shut behind him. Unfortunately for the hero, this slam was heard by the princess, who stood at the fountain in the courtyard's center. She turned to face him and smiled brightly. "Oh, good morning Link."

He unconsciously put a hand to the back of his neck. "Uh, good morning pr- er... Zelda."

A look of annoyance crossed her face for a split second. He knew she hated when he stuttered around her as well as when he called her princess instead of Zelda, but usually she remained calm despite these things. Was something wrong? he wondered for a moment. She quickly went back to smiling, however. But, that made him do something else she didn't like. He began intently studying the ground at his feet.

"Um... Zelda, I wanted to-"

"Why do you do that?" the princess interrupted, trying and only partially succeeding at keeping her tone in check.

"Do... what?"

"I thought you'd finally gotten past that, but now you're doing it again. Stuttering whenever you're around me and not looking me in the eye and..." she cut her sentence short as she realized she was quickly losing her usually solid grip on her emotions.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to..."

"Do you hate me?" she demanded in an almost childish tone.

Link stood frozen for a minute as if letting her words sink in. _What?_

"Zelda..." he said slowly, "I could never hate you."

"Then why do you act like this?"

"I don't... I mean... It's just hard to explain..."

"Why?" she nearly yelled.

He flinched, almost taking a half-step back.

"You see? It's like you're afraid of me." she said, struggling to calm dowm.

"Zelda, I..."

"Just forget it," she said, turning her back to him. "I have to go." She started to walk away.

He gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Zelda, wait. I just..."

Suddenly she whirled to face him again. For just that split second Link thought he could see unshed tears glittering in her emerald eyes.

"Just leave me alone!" she practically screamed. And with that, she slapped him squarely across the face.

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**And _that's _why part of me hates this chap. I make Zelda seem like a total jerk... But that was the only way I could come up with to put everything into position for the sequel so please don't kill me! And yes, I plan to make a sequel. But anyway, I'll explain why Zelda acted all freaky in a future chap; also, I know Link's probably OOC when he's talkin' to Sheik, but I figured he had to act different then usual since he's around his best friend. Lastly, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW AND NO FLAMES!**

**-Archer  
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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I've been oddly unenergetic to do this chap lately. Lol, guess I've been more interested in reading. Anyway, the beginning of this chap is slow, but it gets better so hope you guys enjoy and R&R! **

**Disclaimer: Just the ocs and plot are mine.  
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**A Knight like No Other**

Chapter 4

Link stood frozen in the middle of the castle courtyard. His mind still hadn't completely registered what had just happened. How had this gone so wrong? Zelda had already run back into the castle leaving him alone. She had slapped him. The girl he loved had slapped him. That was the single coherent thought that ran through his mind over and over like a broken record. It was not a hard slap to be honest, but in all the fights he'd gone through, in all the enemies he'd faced, in all the cuts, bruises, and mortal wounds he had received, none that he knew could compare to the pain he felt at that moment. Cuts and bruises healed within the space of a few days, and even the worst of wounds usually disappeared within a week or two, leaving only scars to show they'd once been there. But this, this was something else entirely. He didn't know how long he had stood in the courtyard. It seemed like an age before he finally forced his legs to take him back to the castle. When he arrived back in his room, Sheik was waiting expectantly, but the look on his friend's face was enough to answer his unspoken question. He simply watched as Link slammed himself onto his bed, burying his face as deep in his pillow as it would go. He stayed like this for hours, not moving other then the slight shivering of his shoulders every now and then or to turn toward the wall his bed was pushed against. Sheik silently left a short while after and, later that day, brought his friend something to eat. But, it wasn't until that night that hunger forced Link to reluctantly pick at what Sheik had brought for him. "Thanks," he said hoarsely, only turning to look at Sheik for a second. Sheik just nodded. The two remained silent for the rest of the night. Link not wanting to speak and Sheik not knowing what to say.

XxX

It was around midnight when Link's eyes finally fell shut, despite his attempt to keep them open; he knew the instant he let his mind wander, an internal war would be set in motion. "Idiot!" a voice hissed suddenly in his mind, "you knew all along this would end badly! Hero or not, you are a peasant by blood and that cannot be changed. Even if you were of noble blood, why would she choose you?"

A very tiny voice argued that it was possible. But, it was a barely audible whisper and it quickly faded away as Link finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

XxX

Zelda sighed. 'How could I have even done that? It was like I completely lost control. This isn't his fault and I took it out on him... He'll probably never speak to me again...'

These were the thoughts that ran through the princess's mind as she too lie awake, curled up on her large bed. Impa had attempted to comfort her young charge, but now it was very late and even she had gone to bed. Zelda shivered. The sheets on her bed were cold, damp with tears; pulling the covers over her body, she fell asleep a few minute later, still in the dress she'd worn that day.

It seemed only minutes had passed when she opened her eyes once more.

Slowly, her sight adjusted to the dim light of the moon falling through her window in pale silver streaks. It cast ghostly shadows upon the stone walls and most of the room remained shrouded in darkness. A chill passed through her. Suddenly, she realized someone...or something...else was there, looming silently over her bed. She started to scream, but just as she opened her mouth, a hand was clamped over it; but, she soon realized, this was no ordinary hand, it was hard, cold, and scaly. Worse still, Zelda noticed long, deadly claws that glistened in the moonlight replaced fingers and, try as she might to free herself and cry out for help, this creature's grip was like iron. A low, threatening rumble escaped the monster's throat. It was quiet, not loud enough for anyone else to hear, but its meaning was all too clear to the princess. A warning to remain silent and not to struggle. Then Zelda felt it lifting her out of her bed. It carried her to the window, which she now realized was open and suddenly a set of enormous wings spanned out from its back.

And so, it silently lifted off into the night, carrying the princess with it...

XxX

Link awoke with a start the next morning to a flurry of activity. The castle was in a state of panic, servants scurrying about in every direction and officers shouting orders to their men. Horses neighed and armor clanked as the castle's men hurried to set out on their search. As Link stepped slowly out of the door of his room and observed the chaos all around him, a woman nearly slammed into him. "Oh, excuse me Sir Link," the woman murmured quickly before continuing on her way.

"Hey, wait," he called after her, "what's..." but she had already disappeared among the other people crowded into the corridor. The castle's halls flowed with people like a river that had burst its banks after a storm and even standing in his own doorway Link was jostled and pushed a good deal as people nearly ran to and fro.

'What in the world is going on?' he thought. He tried again and again to get a passing servant's attention to see what was the matter, but to no avail. His voice was nearly drowned out in the hustle and bustle. At last, frustrated, Link grabbed one of the servants by the collar and pulled him to a halt.

"What is going on?" he demanded angrily. The previous day's sadness was replaced with rage that now burned clearly in his sapphire eyes.

The man gulped slightly before replying. "Um... The- The princess has disappeared Sir Link." he said, "Her window was found open and her bed empty when Miss Impa went to wake her about thirty minutes past; and she's not been seen anywhere around the castle since last night."

Link immediately released his grip, "Wh-What?" he stammered.

"A troop of soilders has already been sent out to search for her and more are preparing to leave as we speak," the man continued; however, if he said anything more, Link never heard it. He turned and headed silently down the hall. He made his way through the sea of activity in a daze. Zelda, gone? He couldn't believe it. He at last fell into a chair in the castle's sitting room. One of the few servants who wasn't out on a frenzied search for the princess quickly approached him. "Would you like me to bring you some breakfast Sir Link?" the woman asked kindly. Link just continued staring, his cerulean eyes held a glazed, distant look and he didn't seem to even notice her. "Um... Sir Link?" she repeated.

He finally snapped back to reality. "What? Oh, um, no thank you, I...haven't got much of an appetite..."

The woman bowed slightly and disappeared. Sheik passed her on his way in. "Uh, you okay?" he asked slowly.

"No," Link replied flatly. "I mean how could she just disappear? Her room is two stories up for Pete's sake! She couldn't just jump," he seemed to be talking more to himself then his friend.

Sheik sighed. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I did a little checking around myself and there's something you're gonna want to see."

Link slowly got up and followed his friend, all the worst possibilities filling his head. Sheik led him to Zelda's room and over to the window, which still stood open. He pointed down to the sill. Link got to his knees and studied it closely.

Claw-marks were scratched into the stone.

After a moment, Link silently jumped to his feet and walked out of the room. Sheik stood watching him for a moment before following. "Where are you going?" he asked when he'd caught up.

"To find her," Link replied stoutly.

"How could you possibly find her?" Sheik demanded. "Hyrule is huge and you don't even know where to begin to look."

"Don't care. I'll figure something out." Link replied without stopping.

"But..."

Finally, Link halted and turned to his friend. "Look Sheik, I've saved her before and I'll do it again. It doesn't matter how long or what it takes. I'll find her somehow. Whatever happened yesterday... that can't change how I feel about her; so, no matter what, I'm going." With that, Link turned and headed for the castle's main doors. Soon, he and Epona were headed out across Hyrule Field. They had started out from just below Zelda's bedroom window and continued straight on from there. Now, nearly three hours of fruitless searching and criss-crossing the fields had passed. Link looked out ahead and sighed. An endless expanse of green dotted here and there with trees and flowers seemed to stretch on forever before him, Nevertheless, he refused to give in and, a half an hour later, Link spotted something at last. He had slowed his pace slightly to let Epona rest, but then something caught his eye. He brought his horse to a sudden halt and jumped from the saddle. Bending down, he picked up a torn piece of a familiar-looking fabric. "That's what I thought," he said darkly after only a second or two. Still clutching the fabric, he swung back up into Epona's saddle and soon they were off at a fierce gallop.

The shred of fabric was from Zelda's dress.

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**A/N: Okay, the ending is clique and this is still short, I know, but it was all I had. Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you guys liked it and will come back next week, and please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Alright, here's the next chapter! I know it's still sorta short, but I hope you guys like it. So please enjoy and R&R! =D**

**Update: Ugh, I can't believe I forgot this. For people who've already read this chap there was something I meant to put in it, but just totally spaced out, so, this is basically just a bit of revising, Anyway, the next chap will be up soon, so please come back to check it out!  
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**A Knight Like No Other**

Chapter 5

Link glanced over his shoulder again as he continued on. He had a strange feeling he was being followed, but every time he looked around he couldn't see anything. He shook off the thought and kept going. Since his last discovery, Link had found something else. Something that, even though he didn't truly know what it was, gave him a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Now, he held up the scale-like object and studied it once more. It was a deep jet black. Link slowly ran his fingers over the object. It was smooth to the touch though it had a few marks on it that looked like scratches. It seemed to mock him as he stared at it; laughing at his confusion and growing fear, at the fact that it knew something he did not.

Though the moon had risen over the fields some time ago, Link continued on, a thousand thoughts of the terrible things that could have happened to the princess fueling his determination.

The moon was now on its decent and Link was struggling to keep his heavy eyelids from dropping closed; Epona had slowed to a walk. Link's grip on the reigns loosened, his eyelids falling shut for what seemed only a second. The next thing he knew, he felt himself slipping and his eyes snapped open. He barely managed to grab the saddle horn before crashing to the ground. He furiously shook himself awake, but it wasn't long before he was forced to finally call a halt. He fairly crashed to the ground at his feet, paying no heed to the fact that it was wet with dew. He shivered slightly, unsure if it was cold or fear that caused it, and seconds later he fell into a fitful sleep.

XxX

The rays of the afternoon sun shone down on the sleeping form of Link, cutting easily through the sparse clouds in the sky. One certain streak of light seemed to have the direct intention of awaking the hero and shone brightly down on his face. Link groaned and turned away from the light, but then he remembered where he was. In a second he was on his feet; Epona nickered softly to him from where she stood tethered to a nearby tree. The young man rubbed the sleep from his eyes, amazed that he'd even managed to tether his horse before falling asleep; he didn't remember tying her reigns to that tree. Shrugging off the thought, he quickly untied Epona, and swung up into the saddle.

As they rode on through the day, Link continually scanned the horizon for any sign that might point him toward Zelda. Pulling up on Epona's reigns, his clouded azure eyes searched the terrain desperately for something, anything that might tell him where she was, who had taken her, anything. Suddenly, a huge shadow passed overhead. A storm? His gaze darted upward. There was nothing there, the sky was crystal clear, the sun shining brightly overhead. Link shook his head and set his sights back on the horizon as he pressed the heels of his boots gently into Epona's sides. The sun was sinking at the hero's back when he saw it. Out over a high rocky bluff in the distance, strange dark clouds were swirling about; but they hovered far too close to the ground to be storm clouds. He urged Epona into a gallop. All the unanswered questions rushed back to him, who could have taken her? Ganondorf was gone and things had been calm since Zelda had been returned to power. Shaking his head, Link focused on the task at hand; the important thing now was to get to the princess and save her. As the bluff's plateau-like top slowly drew closer, Link saw that the clouds overhead had to be smoke; the question was: why were they there? The sun sank lower and lower; the bluff's peak seemed mere feet away. But, the going was infuriatingly slow, as the path was narrow and the cliff high. Not long after, the path became too slim for Epona to go any further. Sliding from the saddle, Link hurriedly tethered her, giving her a fond pat. "Thanks girl, you did good. I'll be back." he said, and then he turned and continued on his own.

A short time later, Link was nearing the top of the bluff. The more he studied it, the more... unnatural the place seemed. A certain unearthly feel hung in the air around him; and the more he saw of the place, the more Link thought it must of been constructed. The paths were simply too twisted and confusing to be natural; so far, he'd run into five dead ends and he could feel panic closing in on him. Every second could be crucial.

He paused, the sense that told him he was being followed sent a slight tremor up his spine, but, he brushed the feeling aside and walked on. It was becoming harder and harder to see and even more difficult to breath; every time he took a breath, Link nearly broke into a fit of coughs. The smoke burned his lungs and stung his eyes, but he kept silent. The element of surprise, if he even still held it, was key.

XxX

Twice now, Link had seen great orange flashes pass right by him, temporarily breaking through the smoke. He could feel the heat radiating from them and had long since dismissed the idea of surprising whatever lay in wait ahead of him. These were definitely not the flaming arrows that had all too often been fired at him during his quest to defeat Ganondorf. No, these were huge balls of fire, capable of killing him in a single blow. But he would not be frightened off so easily. Steeling his nerves, Link pressed on through the smoke. He would defeat whatever was here the same way he had Ganondorf. He had to, for Zelda. Suddenly, his thoughts were broken by a low rumble coming from his right. He whipped around to face it, but by now the smoke was so thick he could see no more then a few inches in front of him. The rumble grew steadily louder and louder, until the ground under the hero's feet began to tremble with it. A growl of warning to the intruder now present. Then the growl turned into a terrible shrieking roar and a fierce wind nearly knocked Link off his feet; but he stood his ground, drawing the Master Sword. Within seconds, the smoke cleared and Link could see clearly what he was facing. A dragon towered over him, its black scales seeming to absorb the sun's light, making it seem as if a dark cloud constantly surrounded it. Flapping enormous wings the creature had easily cleared the smoke all around them. The same smoke it had spread throughout the area to mark its territory, to keep away prying eyes. Now, it lowered its head to glare angrily at this pest. This thing so much smaller then itself, it nearly laughed at thinking how easy it would be to crush it. The creature snorted scornfully in Link's face, yellow eyes gleaming murderously. Link quickly surveyed the now cleared area. Though he only had about a second to do so, he immediately saw what he was looking for. Princess Zelda sat in a makeshift prison cell carved out of the rock with her back to him. Upon hearing the dragon roar again, she turned to see what was happening and her mouth nearly fell open at the sight, emerald eyes going wide. Link dodged a swipe of the dragon's deadly claws just before they slashed right through him. Now, he jumped again and slashed back at the dragon, but its scaly hide seemed impenetrable.

Zelda watched in disbelief as the battle continued. Link searched constantly for some sort of weakness to the creature, but the few chinks in its armor-clad body were far too small. Suddenly, the dragon, which had previously been standing on its hind legs, fell back to all fours and snapped at the hero with razor-like teeth. It then shot off a fireball directly at Link. He barely sidestepped and the fireball exploded against the wall of rock behind him. Bits of rock and dirt flew in all directions and for a moment, Link's vision was once again clouded by smoke and dust. The dragon gave another vicious snarl at this. It now held an even greater advantage. Three more fireballs flew Link's way, but he managed to dodge these. Seeing this was unsuccessful, the dragon then swung its immense tail at him; a powerful swing which would mean death for any in its path. But Link vaulted into the air at seemingly the last possible second. However, as he landed back on his feet, he staggered slightly and the dragon seemed to see that his guard was down. Taking his opportunity, the creature tried once more to lash out with its claws. Link did his best to dodge the attack, but he couldn't get quite far enough away. The dragon's claws struck him with terrible force first cutting across his shoulder, then down his chest.

Within seconds, the forest green of his tunic had been stained an ugly red and with a cry of pain Link collapsed to his knees. Zelda's eyes widened further and she once again relived the final battle against Ganondorf. But this time it was all too real.

Link struggled to stand again. Clutching the hilt of his sword for support, he managed to raise himself up to a standing position. However, once again, the dragon's tail came speeding toward him and Link didn't think he had the strength to avoid it. He staggered back out of the monster's range; but he fell to the ground once more as he dropped his sword, and so, lost his only means of balance.

The princess could only watch in helpless terror as Link fell to the ground and the dragon slowly advanced to strike the final blow. He seemed almost to grin evilly as he did so, hundreds of teeth poking out from under his lips. Zelda closed her eyes as tightly as she could, rivers of crystalline tears streaming from them to fall on the hard rock at her feet. Then suddenly, she heard a sound like the clash of metal on metal. Her eyes flew open. There was a silvery flash and the black dragon stumbled back, as if struck by some invisible force. Then, another flash and, as if from nowhere, a huge slash appeared across his body, starting at his left eye and going down his chest. A third flash and the wall of the princess's prison seemed to simply explode. Large chunks of rock sailed through the air in all directions and Zelda covered her face, only able to hope she would not be struck by one of them. She felt a sharp pain shoot through her leg as a piece of the stone flew past and shatter like so much glass when it hit the wall at her back. At last, the ground shook underneath her as the black dragon fell and then, all was still. At the moment not caring who had saved them, Zelda rushed to Link's side and knelt there. The gashes zigzagging down his chest were deep, but not deep enough to kill.

However, if they weren't properly treated soon... Zelda quickly shook that awful thought from her head, she had to keep calm. But, her mind soon began to race; she hadn't a clue where he might have left Epona and without her the trip would be impossible. She struggled to picture the paths now below them; two nights prior, from the dragon's clutches, she'd had an aerial view of all her surroundings, but the mere thought made her sick. There had been at least a dozen twisting paths criss-crossing the face of the mountain-like structure. Which would lead to Epona, back to the safety of Hyrule Field?

Zelda's gaze darted to the massive black dragon mere feet from her. Was it really dead? If not, it might wake up any given moment. That thought made the princess panic still further.

Then, as if on cue, the sound of footsteps echoed off the rocks. Zelda quickly looked up to find a young boy who looked somewhat familiar. His hazel eyes immediately dropped to where Link lay unconscious, the rise and fall of his chest uneven and labored. He then slowly looked up to Zelda and her puzzlement must have shown on her face because he quickly spoke, albeit with a look of shock and disbelief.

"I... I'm Matt, Link's squire."

At this, a tiny flicker of hope appeared in the princess's eyes. "Then you know the way back? Where he left Epona?"

He nodded, appearing to still be in a state of shock.

"You've got to help me get him back there, quickly!"

Reality struck and the boy shook the fog off, then hurried to help Zelda. Together, the pair managed to take Link back down the path to where Epona waited and soon they were galloping full speed toward Hyrule Castle.

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**And that's it for now! Did you like it? If you did, or if you can tell me any ways to make it better, please review! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back next week!**

**-Archer  
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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

To Zelda, it seemed like ages before they arrived back at the castle and guards came to carry Link to the infirmary. For hours, there was silence in that corridor. No news of Link's condition came, but Zelda continued to wait. Now, as she drifted halfway off to sleep, her mind wandered back to what it was that had rescued then from the black dragon. All she had seen was that silver flash. What could it have been? Whatever it was it must have been awfully powerful. It seemed to slice through the black dragon's scale-covered body like paper. But, whatever it was, why had it helped them? Why had it been there to begin with? Had it just been passing by and seen the two in trouble? All these questions ran through Zelda's mind as she finally fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Zelda awoke to find herself back in her own room, but still in the same clothes she'd been wearing since the dragon had kidnapped her. After quickly changing, she rushed down to the infirmary. She lifted a hand to knock on the door to the room Link was in, but stopped. The events of the day before her kidnapping rushed back to her and she collapsed into a chair as a wave of guilt came crashing over her. All the horrible things she had said and done to Link, and yet he had still come to rescue her, and now he had nearly been killed, once again having placed her life before his own.

She slowly got up, raised a hand once more, and knocked on the door before her. She had to say something.

"Come in," came the reply. She slowly pushed the door open and walked in. "Oh uh, hi," Link said smiling weakly. A strip of bandages went diagonally from his shoulder, going down to cover most of his chest, where the dragon had cut him. "I've been wanting to ask you, what happened back there? I thought I was a goner." She cringed and gave an internal sigh of relief at the same time, glad he hadn't brought up the subject she feared the most, but sick at the thought of loosing him.

"Actually, I'm not really sure," she replied, gaining a bit of courage.

"After the dragon attacked you, there was this strange silver flash and just like that a huge cut appeared across its body. Then there was another flash and the wall of that prison cell I was in just… blew apart."

"Well that's not something you see every day," Link said with a small laugh, "but I guess I can't complain."

Zelda smiled halfheartedly back at him, but sighed internally once more; they would have to talk about it sooner or later and it may as well be sooner.

"Link..." she began slowly. However she was suddenly interrupted by a boom from outside, followed by shouts from the castle guards. "Oh no," she said under her breath, "what now?"

Link was already attempting to get to his feet and, though she tried to push him back down she knew it was useless. "Link, you should stay here," she said nevertheless.

He stood looking out a nearby window. "Uh... I think the guards will need all the help they can get."

She peered out the window as well and gasped at what she saw.

Soon the pair had rushed out to the castle entrance. Before them loomed another dragon, but this was not the dragon Link had fought, that was easy to see.

The creature's body was covered all in scales of shining silver, which flashed like a thousand swords in the light of the sun. Another thing that made this dragon different was that it seemed to have no intent of harming them. Instead, it stood at a safe distance, stepping back when the guards thrust their spears forward; though it was obvious they would have had no affect had they made contact.

The dragon's golden eyes quickly surveyed the gathering crowd before coming to rest on a certain young man dressed in green. It lowered its great head, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Pressing its body close to the ground, its eyes never left Link as he now stared back confusedly. Slowly, slowly he began pushing through the crowd, closer to the enormous creature.

At last he was at the front of the crowd and dragon and human kept their gazes locked as if a silent understanding passed between them.

Link took a cautious half-step forward. Immediately, the guards began trying to pull him back.

"No," he said easily breaking their grip, but never looking away from the dragon, still on his guard. "He's not trying to hurt anyone."

Suddenly Zelda's voice broke in. "Link, what are you doing?" she asked, struggling not to yell for fear of startling the beast just feet in front of her.

"Don't you get it Zelda?" Link asked still slowly continuing his advance. "This dragon... He's gotta be the one who saved us both."

She gasped once more. It was near impossible to believe, and yet made perfect sense, this was the silver flash. Without him, they'd surely both have been dead by now. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as well, but simply because they could not believe Link's daring. But, as if they hadn't heard Link, the guards once again advanced on the dragon. The creature hissed low in its throat when one of these men thrust his spear forward and it nearly hit Link; baring rows of razor-sharp teeth, it rose up off the ground slightly. "Whoa, whoa, easy," Link coaxed.

He sighed to himself; he already barely knew what he was doing and these guards weren't helping.

"Zelda," he said quickly, "could you?..."

He cut himself off as the men suddenly lowered their weapons. Slowly, the dragon lowered itself back to the ground and waited as Link, once again, began drawing closer. Now, he stood so close he could reach out and touch the dragon and slowly, carefully, that's just what he did. Another collective gasp from the crowd as the dragon allowed the young man to run a hand along his silver scales.

And that is how a brand new legend began.

Thump! "Ow! Saber, come on cut that out!" Link sighed in exasperation as he got to his feet for what must have been the tenth time that day. "Alright fine, I give up. Happy?"

The dragon snorted in reply as if to say 'yes, I am.' Link sighed once more, he was sure he was going to end up with a ton of bruises thanks to this little experiment. He wasn't sure where he'd ever gotten the idea to begin with, but that morning he had decided he wanted to see if the dragon he had recently named Saber, would allow him to ride on his back.

Now, morning was wearing into afternoon and all he had to show for his struggles was an aching backside.

Though the dragon seemed to be slowly growing to trust him, whenever Link attempted to climb on his back he was quickly thrown to the ground. It had only been a few days since Saber had defeated that strange black dragon, but at least Link's wounds were healing nicely. However, there was still one thing which nagged at his thoughts incessantly.

"Link," he heard a voice call from behind him. ...Speaking of which...

He slowly turned to face the princess with a halfhearted smile. "Link," she said stopping in front of him, "we need to talk."

He felt his heartbeat quicken slightly. That was what he was afraid of... "I just wanted to apologize... for what happened before. I... I didn't mean any of the things I said… or did... that day." she said quietly. "I was just frustrated."

He looked at her with that gentle gaze of his and slowly asked, "Why?"

"Oh it's nothing," she replied, still speaking quietly, "It's not your problem. I just...I. Well, I'm almost 17 and Father says I must chose a suitor to marry."

Link was frozen, standing stock still. He couldn't believe his own ears.

"M-Marry?" he stammered.

"Yes, that's the law." she said sadly, "If I haven't married by the time I'm 17 my father chooses a husband for me. And even though I'm not 17 yet, he thinks he's already picked out the perfect man." she scoffed, "Perfectly awful is more like it. He's a complete snob, just like all the other princes from the neighboring kingdoms. But, the other day I just couldn't stop thinking about that...and dreading it. So...so I lashed out at the first person unfortunate enough to step in my path..."

"But I-I…" Link's voice simply trailed off, unable to come up with a coherent thought.

There was a short silence and Zelda paused, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry," she said after a moment, "I shouldn't have said that. It's my problem, not yours."

"No, it's- it's okay and...just, forget the other day..okay? I understand," he said, still struggling to regain his composure as well.

There was another uncomfortable silence between them for a moment, but at length Zelda spoke once more, if a bit quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said again, "That's not even what I came out here to say."

Link was silent, waiting for her to continue and still slightly stunned.

"I wanted to ask you… what it was you were going to say that day."

Link's face paled even further, if that was possible. ""I-I…"" he stammered hopelessly. "…Could… Could we talk about this later? I… suddenly I don't feel so good."

"Sure," she replied slowly, "are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll-I'll be fine. I just need to rest is all."

That said, Link hurriedly disappeared inside the castle.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey peoples! do you all hate me yet? Plz don't! I know this has taken 4ever! But, with school n my total lack of good ideas I kinda just stopped. Lol anyways first of all, I wanna thank my bud ShadowNinja1011** **for her idea for my story and her help in gettin me writing again! Second, I don't own LoZ, the characters, or anything like that. Matt and Saber r my OCs. And finally, plz enjoy my new chap n plz review! Thx!**

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**A Knight Like No Other **

Chapter 7

"Whoa whoa whoa, back it up," Sheik was saying minutes later, "Zelda's what?"

"She's getting married!" Link fairly shouted. "Her father's practically already picked the guy!" He was pacing wildly back and forth in his room, while Sheik once again sat cross-legged on the spare bed.

"It's-It's just… I can't… What the heck am I supposed to do!" was all Link could come up with at last.

"Well, I mean she isn't seventeen yet, right?"

"Well…no, but…"

"Then it's obvious what you do! The same thing you were gonna do a couple days ago; go out there 'n tell her!"

"Ugh," Link flopped heavily onto his bed. "Do you really think it's that simple?"

"What could be so complicated about it?"

Link sighed, "Well, let's see, first of all, she's a princess. She needs to marry a prince not a… a farm boy."

"Oh come on! Yeah you used to work on a farm, but you're a knight now. 'N it's totally obvious Zelda likes you," Sheik added with a sly smile.

Link, reddening slightly, turned his back to his friend. "Well, either way I'm gonna have to talk to her," he said with another sigh.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until it came time for dinner. Link had spent the afternoon riding Epona through Hyrule Field and now headed slowly back to the castle. However, just as he pushed the massive wooden door open, another man, coming out into the courtyard, slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the man snapped.

"Why don't you?" Link growled back, irritated by the man's superior tone and the swirling thoughts in his head.

The man scowled at Link, looking scornfully down on him.

"What are you doing around the castle anyway, peasant?" He spat the last word as if it were a poison.

Link glared daggers at him, pulling himself to his feet. "It just so happens, I'm one of the Knights of Hyrule," he snarled back. "The name's Link."

The stranger looked shocked at this, but simply whirled on his heel and stomped back through the door he'd come. Giving a huff of annoyance, Link headed inside as well and turned toward the dining hall.

Link had soon taken a seat at the enormous dinning table and, shortly after, Zelda slipped through one of the large doors around the room as well. Link's cobalt eyes narrowed slightly as he saw that the man who'd run into him was speaking quietly with and leaning dangerously close to the princess.

Zelda was quick to sidle away from him and hurriedly took the seat right next to Link. Slightly startled, the hero shifted his gaze from the stranger to the young woman now seated to his right.

"Oh, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?" she asked quietly.

"No, of course not."

At this, the princess offered him a grateful smile and, for a while, the two ate their meals in almost complete silence.

To Link, an odd thickness seemed to hang in the air all around him. To his right, Zelda picked at her food with a look of unease. Occasionally, her gaze would fall on the stranger who sat across from them, but she was quick to look away, her expression all the more upset each time. At last, Link could stand it no longer and, turning to the princess, asked, "Who is he?" With this, he threw a quick glance at the man who, for the past fifteen to twenty minutes, had been giving him dirty looks.

Zelda's only reply was, "Meet me in the gardens as soon as dinner is over."

Link could only nod. Now more confused then ever, the young man was soon lost in thought.

**XxX**

The sun was sinking slowly below the horizon as Link stepped out into the gardens. Only a moment later, he heard the door creek open and turned towards it. The figure he saw was familiar; however, it was the last person Link had expected to see. The stranger simply stared at Link for a moment, dark eyes filled with something he had seen all too often in past battles. Hatred, rage, murder. The man appeared to be about twenty. He wore a black tunic with gold designs and white leggings. His black hair was pushed back and his eyes, a strange bright green, had an evil glint in them. The man reminded Link of his "evil twin," Dark.

"Looking for someone?" Link asked, an edge creeping into his voice.

"You," was the answer, it sounded almost like a hiss. The stranger gripped his sword hilt.

Link instinctively went for his weapon as well.

"Look, all I did was run into you and you're asking for a fight?"

"You," the man said again, "I know you're after the princess, but if you think I'm going to let you take _my_ rightful position as king, you'd better think again."

Link stared, momentarily dumbfounded; rage gripped him and he had to fight to push it off. "Y- You're the one who's supposed to marry Zelda?"

"The name's Sale and trust me, I will marry her," The man grinned. "And then…" He stopped and a dark fire burned in his eyes.

Link had no desire to even think of how that sentence might end. But, there was one thing he knew, he could _not _let this happen. His chest constricted and, on his sword hilt, his knuckles turned white with his grip.

Then, something happened that link couldn't believe. Sale pulled his sword from its sheath with a malevolent grin. But, just as Link was drawing his own blade in defense, the man turned his blade on himself and carved a large gash in his black tunic. The resulting wound was not deadly, but it looked to be so. Blood made the midnight fabric darker as Link stared in shock. Without another word, Sale turned and departed, giving only a quiet chuckle.

If Link had found this move shocking, what followed was dumbfounding as Hyrule's hero soon found himself a prisoner of the royal guard.

Mere minutes after Sale's actions in the courtyard, Link had been summoned to the king's presence, his planned meeting with Zelda being now lost, as she too was called to her father's side. Both hero and princess now struggled to understand that meeting's result. Sale had been there, bandaged around the midsection, with a sorrowful look in his eyes when the king looked to him and a baneful one as soon as the king's back was turned. In a moment, Link had been sentenced to the dungeons, all manner of justice suddenly forgotten. Where had the king's reason gone? This was not his usual, just mindset and Zelda was almost sure she knew what…or who had changed it. Yet, there seemed to be nothing she could do about it.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Impa, her thoughts much the same as those of the princess, was attempting to reason with King Harkaninian. Sale, unknown to the king, still stood in a far corner of the room.

"But Your Highness," Impa was saying, "this is unreasonable. We have no proof that it was Link who attacked Zelda's future fiancé. You hardly even troubled to hear Link's side of the story."

"We have Sale's word. Is that not proof enough?"

Impa sighed. "Well Your Highness, if I may speak freely?" Here, she paused until the king nodded.  
"With all due respect Sire, no, I don't think so. In a case of one man's word against another, is it not wrong to…well…simply choose a favorite?"

Anger stirred in King Harkininian's eyes. "Are you saying this is what I have done?" His voice was low and strange, threatening almost. Impa paused, turning her gaze to the corner where Sale hid.

"Sire, may I ask a favor of you?"

The king's look changed from one of anger to that of confusion.

He paused before replying slowly, "Yes, of course."

"I would request that _he_ be removed from the throne room," Impa said, pointing to the place where Sale hid. After a moment, he slid from the shadows.

"Sale!" the king said with shock, "this is a private meeting. Leave at once."

Sale bowed, looking as innocent as possible. "Yes your highness," he said quietly before turning and disappearing through the great doors behind him. Impa then looked back to the king and saw it was as if a cloud passed over his eyes and fled. Their usually light returned before a look of confusion once again overtook them.

"What…what's happening? It's as if...something else...has been controlling me," the king said slowly.

"My thoughts exactly," was Impa's reply. "Sire don't you see? Sale _has_ been controlling you, poisoning your mind. It was less pronounced before, but this episode was the last straw. You must put a stop to this idea of Zelda's marrying him! It would not strengthen Hyrule as you desire, rather it would tear it apart! Sale is only after power and seeks it through marriage to the kingdom's future ruler."

The king sighed, "Impa, I fear what you say is true, but we cannot jump to conclusions. I will not force the marriage, but you know our laws as well as I; Zelda must marry by her seventeenth birthday."

Impa smiled, "May I request one thing more Your Highness?" the king nodded in answer. "The release of the hero."

"It is granted," was the king's reply.

"Thank you Your Highness, you'll see, this problem will practically take care of itself."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

In the depths of Hyrule Castle's dungeons, Link paced in his cell, muttering angrily about Sale and his tricks. Suddenly, there was a stir of noise further down the corridor; footsteps could be heard. Link could faintly hear the voices of distant guards; they sounded odd, excited. A few torches hanging on either wall dimly illuminated the corridor. A moment later, another light joined their glow. Link peered out through the bars of his cell and down the hall. Within a minute or two, the princess stood before his cell door.

"Zel!" Link shouted. "What are you doing down here?"

The princess smiled. "My father sent me here to release you," she said. She pulled out a big ring of keys and jingled them. As she unlocked the door, Link wondered where all the guards had gone. But that didn't matter at the moment. He stepped out and hugged her.

Zelda smiled for a brief moment, and then became serious again. "There's bad news too," she said in a hushed voice.

"What?"

"My father and his advisors are holding a council, to find out what really happened."

"Why's that bad? So long as the king will hear me out now, I can explain everything."

Zelda shook her head. "It won't be that simple. Impa thinks that Sale can get inside people's minds, to manipulate them and make them think whatever he wants them to believe. My father and Impa are highly suspicious of this now, but it won't be easy to prevent it. And besides, it's a case of one person's word against another's. As far as I know, there were no witnesses to what actually occurred."

Link let out a sigh. "Sounds like the odds aren't too much in my favor."

The princess shook her head. "Don't worry Link. We'll figure this out."

The pair turned to leave the dungeons. They passed a group of guards a ways down the hall. 'So she managed to leave them behind,' Link thought. 'For now, that's a good thing. Who knows how many people Sale has turned against me.'

Link and Zelda had soon returned to the throne room. The king and his advisors sat around a table set up in the room's center, talking quietly. Sale stood nearby.

Zelda sighed, "I'm not sure. Maybe there was a witness. We don't know yet. Just go tell the truth. Right now that's all we can do. That, and hope."

The king cleared his throat and silence fell; the doors to the throne room were shut with a groan.

"You all know why we have gathered here," said the king. "It seems as if a battle of sorts took place today, in the very courtyard of this castle. Now, this battle, if battle it was, concerned a quarrel between two men here at the castle. As you all know, such matters, should they come to such extremes as battle, are to brought before the king. Sale, Link, please step forward."

Sale came forward. He wore a new tunic, not torn but still black and traced with gold along the edges and borders of the fabric. Link stepped up as well.

"Sale states that this incident was not a battle, but that when he and Link fell into a disagreement, Link drew his sword and attacked him. However, I feel my previous sentence to Link was unjust and rash. Therefore, I have gathered you all here to decide between these two after we have heard each of their stories. Link, we shall hear your side of the story first."

Link bowed. "Your Highness," he said, "since no guards were present at the time of the disagreement between Sale and I, I have no absolute proof to my words, but, for lack of a better way to put things, Sale has been lying. It is true that, in a moment's anger, I reached for my sword, but I never once drew it. At the same time, I know I have no proof to my claims. All I can tell the council is what I saw. Sale drew his sword and used it on himself. Then, as there were no witnesses aside from myself to say otherwise, he blamed me."

The king nodded and Link stepped back to Zelda's side. "Now, we will hear Sale's side of the story."

Sale stepped up, giving Link an arrogant and overly confident smirk.

"Your Highness," he said with a bow, "You know the story I set before you this afternoon. My plea remains the same. Link and I stood in the courtyard talking and, when I happened to mention my possible engagement to the princess, he became angry. From there, things escalated, Link drew his sword, and cut me before I could get inside."

From her place beside Link, Zelda watched her father and the councilmen closely as Sale finished his story. The king's eyes and those of all his councilmen became glazed and empty for a moment. The king shook his head; the glaze weakened but remained and seemed to work to grow stronger. Zelda stepped up.

"All of you here," she said, "you mustn't believe this claim. Can't you all see? Sale _is_ lying, using magic to make you believe him and manipulating you to fall for his claim. I can see it; some of you may feel it, a confusion of sorts. Most all of you here have known Link for months now. Has he ever once harmed anything other than that which threatened the safety of others?"

The king smiled sadly at his daughter and answered, "My dear, though your statements may be true, you know as well as I, we cannot stand upon here say as evidence."

Zelda opened her mouth to protest, but her father continued.

"I realize that this is what I did by placing Link in the dungeons today. But I see this for the mistake it was and deeply regret it. Nevertheless, the council must have stronger evidence to decide by. And so, this leads me to my next question. Are there any witnesses to the event these two have spoken of?"

Silence fell upon the room. Everyone waited for a short span of time. A throat cleared very quietly and a young maid stepped forward. She curtsied low to the council and her voice was hardly a whisper when she said, "Your Highness, I must admit, I heard about this dispute earlier today; but I was somewhat afraid to come forward. I know I shouldn't be silent though. You see, I went out on a balcony to clean a few carpets today after supper and, as I was working, I happened to notice these men talking in the courtyard below. This man drew a blade," she said pointing to Sale, "and I feared there would be a fight, but he turned his blade upon himself and went back into the castle shortly after."

A murmur spread rapidly over the room. The group turned and looked to Sale for some answer. However, one of the castle guards stepped forward and the attention soon turned to him.

"Your Highness," he said, "I believe I also saw these men in the courtyard this evening. I was not very close to them and so could not see everything. I can only say that, as far as I could see, Link never drew his sword."

The murmur resumed until the king began to speak.

"Well," said the king, "we have heard these two speak; can anyone add anything further?"

This time, the silence went unbroken. Even Sale had no protests to make.

After this, the case was soon decided. Link was free and Sale was forbidden to enter Hyrule ever again. He returned home shortly after. And so, life went on quietly again for a while; but Zelda's eighteenth birthday drew ever nearer and Link continued silent as ever on this subject. Until, one day, he went out into Hyrule Field with Sheik and, some hours later, the princess arrived.

"Well there you two are," she said. "I've been looking for both of you. Sheik, the captain of the guard wants to speak to you for some reason or other that he refuses to tell me."

Sheik got up, threw a meaningful glance at Link, and was quickly gone.

Link, of course, knew his friend's meaning. The subject of the princess and her approaching birthday had come up multiple times that day. Link's resolve was building, slowly but surely. Every day, he saw suitors coming to the castle. And every day, the sight angered him; angered him and scared him. It made him think, what if he lost her, what then?

The princess sat down beside him and, after a moment, he decided; it was now or never.

"Zel?" he said quietly.

"Hmm?" the princess glanced over at him.

"I-I need to ask you something."

Zelda turned to look at him, her full attention now on him. "What?"

"Well, we were talking a few days ago about how…you have to marry soon. To tell the truth, I should have said something then, but I didn't, so, I've got to now. Zel, I'm not rich. I'm not a prince or anything. I don't even have a ring right now. But, the truth is,…I love you and…and I want to ask you…to marry me."

There was a moment's silence and in that moment Link's bravery hit the ground. Zelda's green eyes grew wide and she stared at him for a moment in complete amazement. Then, the next thing he knew, she leaned over and kissed him. But, the kiss was short, as she soon pulled away and exclaimed, full of excitement, "Yes!"

A bright smile grew on the princess' face and the hero couldn't help smiling with her.

Link jumped to his feet and pulled Zelda with him. He picked her up and spun her around, laughing while she squealed in sheer joy. When he set her on her feet again, he expressed his joy in a longer lasting, deeper kiss, before finally sitting down again with a wide grin on his face. When he and Zelda went back to the castle, hand in hand, the words "I told you so," were sure to repeatedly come out of Sheik's mouth. But it was also sure, Link's smile would hardly even lessen, during that day or the days that followed thereafter.

XxX

Epilogue

Zelda's birthday was a crazy, exciting, beautiful, and exhausting day. In the morning, the princess and her hero were finally married. At noon, the king and his family went out to Hyrule Field for a picnic, a grand private celebration of the two joyous occasions that took place that day. And in the evening, the public celebration took place in the form of a ball. The ball lasted a long while and was a large celebration. It was a day that would be remembered for many years to come; and a day Link and Zelda would remember all their lives.


End file.
